


Mutiny has Variable Definitions

by staarmunch



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Matchmaking, Mutual Pining, Post-Star Trek (2009), Pre-Star Trek: Into Darkness, Rumors, but can be read as tos, everyone knows that jim is head over heels for bones except for bones, written with aos in mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 11:12:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staarmunch/pseuds/staarmunch
Summary: The one where everyone aboard the Enterprise can see that Jim’s got it bad for his CMO except they don’t realize their Captain and Doctor aren’t in on the gossip.(Or, Jim really loves Bones and it’s super obvious to everyone and word gets around and Bones cannot believe Spock caught on before he did.)





	Mutiny has Variable Definitions

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone!! 
> 
> i have not written in a THICC moon so i'm super sorry if there's any horrendous typos, grammar errors, tense changes, anything else that might have gone wonky that i missed! i busted this out real quick cause i desperately needed some mckirk. 
> 
> i hope y'all enjoy!

Jim stared off into space, PADD forgotten in his lap as he chewed on the stylus and tapped his foot rhythmically to a beat no one else could hear; the Enterprise was to remain in Warp 4 for the next week while on their way to a Starbase for routine maintenance and shore leave. The time leading up to shore leave was always the slowest with a lack of immediate tasks to complete aboard the ship other than the regular daily requirements. Jim never thought he’d be complaining about a lack of unexpected attacks and hostile civilizations but he would welcome any distraction other than the one currently plaguing his mind.

Blue eyes glazed over, it was clear that the Captain’s thoughts were not on the bridge with his crew. Spock glanced over after requesting Kirk’s presence twice only to be met with no reply. He looked to the side and met Nyota’s gaze, noting her poorly concealed smirk before rising from his station and taking his place next to Jim.

“Captain? Are you feeling well? I have been trying to gain your attention for over two minutes now.”

Startling in his seat, Jim sat up straighter as though he were a student caught sleeping during class. “My apologies, Mr. Spock. I suppose I have a lot on my mind. What was it that you needed?” He tried to feign casualty but he knew it fell short, and Jim just prayed to whatever alien gods that were out there that Spock let the poor attempt go without further question.

Of course, those alien gods definitely didn’t owe Jim any favors.

“Are you sure you’re feeling adequate enough to work? I can notify Doctor McCoy if you feel you need to report to medbay.” Spock knew, logically of course, that his Captain would never willingly admit if he needed a break but he attempted to leave the illusion of choice in his words, hoping Kirk would catch on.

Jim’s eyes widened and Spock noticed the tension in his posture as he rushed to insist that he was fine, voice attempting to disguise the manic emotion that Spock had the decency not to point out was clear on his face. “No, no, I appreciate it Spock but I’m fine, really. Now what did you want me to look at?” He knew he’d been caught slipping, but Jim reasoned that he was the Captain, and if he wanted to daydream about grumpy southern doctors while the ship was functioning perfectly fine without him being tuned in, well, then that should be allowed.

He got up and wandered over to Spock’s station, knowing his first officer would follow. He wasn’t going to be outwitted on this one, no way. Jim busied himself in looking over the  _ something _ that Spock was showing him. He was really going to have to get a grip on this new crush he had developed on his best friend. And okay, Jim knew it wasn’t new. But he’d always been able to repress it, pat Bones on the back and steal his clothes and drink his whiskey and not think twice about how he was behaving. Then, something threw him off.

Recently, as in, the night before, he had been relaxing in one of the rec rooms after Alpha shift. He was chatting away with Bones though he couldn’t tell you what the conversation was about. Mostly, he was just listening to the older man rant about ensigns with no sense of self preservation, sneaking in jabs at Jim which the other man easily laughed away. Out of the corner of his eye, Jim could see two ensigns now, their conversation just loud enough to be intelligible if he focused in.

> _ “You don’t really believe that!!”  _ The girl whispered in a shriek, swatting at her friends arm.
> 
> Her friends face fell deadly serious, “ _ I’m telling you! Captain Kirk has it bad for Doctor McCoy! When I was in the medbay the other day, the way he looked at him - there’s something going on there.” _

Jim tuned out when the friends started bickering back and forth about why the latter was in the medbay in the first place. He suddenly felt nauseous, all too aware of how close he was leaning toward Bones, how much his gesticulating involved some sort of physical contact with the man when he was trying not to have any.

Bones, of course, never misses anything when it comes to Jim. “Hey kid? You listenin’?” His tone was gruff, as though he was frustrated at being ignored, but Jim recognized it as concern and the normal warmth in his chest came with a pain now, too.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Go on, what happened with M’Benga?” Jim did his best to focus back in, ignoring the panic rising in his body until he could escape to his quarters for the night and have a real breakdown.

Bones eyeballed him for a moment, seeming unsatisfied with the answer but letting it go and Jim breathed a small sigh of relief, thankful for little victories.

It wasn’t until he was crammed in his uncomfortably small starfleet issue bed that night that Jim realized it wasn’t just a crush. He didn’t just think the attraction was physical and he felt foolish for ever thinking it would blow over. He allowed himself to think for the first time that he was in love with Bones, and holy shit, that’s  _ terrifying _ .

So now here he was on the bridge the next day, trying to cope with the fact that he had feelings for his best friend in the universe and he had to get rid of them, or at least find a way to bury them deep, so that he didn’t risk losing the most important person in his life.

You could say it was kinda heavy.

Jim managed to drift through the rest of the day, going through the motions of checking in with his crew, cracking a few jokes, and even making sure to actually complete some paperwork that had been piling up for the better part of the week.

He thought he’d made it out scot-free when he stood and stretched his arms over his head, twisting to crack his back. The Captain’s chair was comfortable enough, but twelve hours sitting still took a toll on him, no matter how many cup holders he could boast. He was nearly in the turbolift when he heard Spock inquiring after him. “Captain?”

Freezing, Jim cursed silently to himself before turning around with a brilliantly fake smile. “What’s up, Spock?”

He noticed his friend was flanked by Nyota, a more common occurrence in recent days, but still off putting at times due to her intensity.

“I merely wished to inform you that I spoke with Doctor McCoy about your behavior on the bridge today. He asked that I have you report for a physical immediately.”

He had never wanted to punch Spock more. 

Not even when he didn’t like the guy! Now they were pretty close friends, Jim liked to think, and the desire to knock some sense into him was stronger than ever. Still, the Vulcan missed out on a lot of human nuances and he could tell by Nyota’s pursed lips that she found it all too amusing, unable to completely hide her smile.

Jim took a breath and opened his mouth before shutting it again. Finally he decided on, “Thank you, Spock,” before taking refuge on an empty turbolift and dropping his head into his hands, tugging at his hair.

Of course Jim knew that if he didn’t show up in medbay that Bones would hunt him down within the hour and probably administer a forceful hypo for some made up reason. The journey to medbay, a normally familiar and welcoming one, felt daunting. The halls of the Enterprise had never seemed so endless and Jim’s feet felt like lead, dragging along with each unwilling step.

The only solace Jim found in Spock’s behavior was that it was clear his problem wasn’t obvious. Sure, he had noticed Jim was off today, but he had no idea why. Another one of those little victories, he supposed. However, now Jim had been given the task of convincing Bones that he was indeed perfectly fine and that Spock was just being paranoid. Bones was usually quick to jump on the bandwagon of Spock overreacting - or, more often, underreacting - but when it came to Jim’s health the Captain knew that those two agreed far more than he cared for.

Pausing outside the door, Jim adjusted his shirt, realizing for the first time that day that it was a bit wrinkly, definitely something he would have gotten reamed for if he’d had any video calls from Starfleet today. He walked in, greeted by the sight on Bones sitting at his desk, scrawling away at a PADD while another was propped up next to him, his eyes flickering quickly between them. His tongue poked out of his lips in concentration and Jim decided that life really just wasn’t fair.

“Hey Bones,” he collapsed in the chair in front of the doctor’s desk, kicking his feet up right next to the PADD his friend was so immersed in.

Bones grumbled, shoving at Jim’s boots without looking up, “This isn’t your damn lounge! Feet off my desk.”

Jim looked down to hide his smile as he tucked his feet under himself in the chair, sitting criss cross style. “I heard I was supposed to report here,” Jim began, not having the nerves to wait for Bones to bring it up.

The doctor looked up warily - Jim never came willing to these sorts of things. “Alright!” He reaffirmed, standing, whatever he was working on quickly tossed to the side. “The hobgoblin says you were actin’ funky on the bridge today.” Bones gestured vaguely to a bio bed and Jim hopped up onto the edge.

“I highly doubt he said I was ‘actin’ funky’,” Jim accused, putting on his most over exaggerated southern accent.

Bones smacked his arm before checking the readings on the screen. “Well, you seem fine to me. Your heart rate is a little quicker than I’d like it to be and your blood pressure has gone up from last time.”

Jim hated that he didn’t even have to look, the pounding in his ears more than enough to tell him his heart was racing. He stood quickly, the beeping from the bed falling silent, and patted Bones on the back, “You know me! I’m always stressed about the ship, it’s probably just that.” He managed to maneuver himself back into the chair in front of Bones’ desk before the doctor could even register what had just happened.

He narrowed his eyes at Jim, not missing the way his knee bounced and his fingers picked at a loose thread on his pants. “Alright, you win this one. But I’m checking your blood pressure again in two weeks, so calm the hell down and take a nap.”

“Yes sir, Leo!” Jim replied with a shit eating grin, dashing out of the medbay before Bones could bitch at him for the use of his real name, and oh God when did he stop wanting to be referred to as Leonard?

Bones sat back down at his desk, his previous work far from his mind. Jim seemed on edge. He was always fidgeting and bouncing around but the energy was never this nervous and Bones could feel it coming off him in waves. Maybe his friend really was just stressed, captaining a starship and all, but a small part of Bones that knew him better knew that Jim was hiding something. Maybe not a health issue, but something was on his mind. He didn’t like when Jim refused to talk about things, cracked jokes and evaded the topic until he had resolved it himself.

He hated that Jim felt like he couldn’t come to him and tell him anything without being a bother because of the kid’s own damn need to handle everything on his own. Jim wasn’t just a patient. When Bones left medbay at the end of each shift, his mind stayed on Jim regardless of if he’d even been there that day - on his health, his well being, his life, his emotional state. He had chalked it up to the fact that he and Jim were such close friends. Of course he was going to worry more about his friend than others. It was normal, even if the stress he felt was enough to make him want to scream at times. Jim was not an easy man to take care of, but Bones would be damned if he wasn’t going to keep doing that for forever and then some.

When his shift ended that night, Bones found himself seeking out someone he never thought he willingly would. “Computer, locate Spock.”

_ Commander Spock is in Rec Room C with Lieutenant Uhura. _

Bones nodded to himself, gathered his bag and heading that way. He entered the room, scanning it over with his eyes before locating Spock and Uhura playing chess. Bones was a man with a mission and he commanded respect, so he had no problem pulling a chair right up to their table.

“It’s not a three person game, Len,” Nyota pointed out, mostly joking but more than a little disappointed her time with Spock had been intruded upon.

Grabbing Nyota’s bishop, he made a move despite her protests, turning to Spock, “You said Jim was actin’ different today. How so?”

Spock blinked, noticing Nyota’s shocked expression at her chess piece having been moved in a beneficial way that would help her win the game. “I am unsure of what you are asking. You saw the Captain after work, yes?”

Bones rolled his eyes, “Yes, I did. He seems fine physically but he’s clearly distracted by something, so spill.”

“I was under the impression that you were aware of the cause of his preoccupation.” Spock relayed calmly, moving his queen and hiding a smirk at the curse that came out of the woman sitting across from him. He turned back to McCoy, “It is you, Doctor.”

Bones furrowed his brow, looking around the room in confusion before settling his gaze back upon Spock, “I’m sorry? Me?”

Spock nodded, muttering an almost regretful  _ checkmate _ as Nyota groaned before congratulating him and reminded him that they were tied now, “I mean no disrespect, Leonard. I simply thought it was obvious that Jim has been distracted by his thoughts of you. In fact, his work efficiency has lowered 4.237% in the past day alone.”

Immediately, Bones turned to Nyota, not willing to trust Spock on any sort of human matter, especially regarding emotions. “Is it true?” He mouthed quietly.

Nyota nodded softly, “You really haven’t seen it? He looks at you like you hung the moon. We might be wrong but it’s the consensus that Jim is crushing hard - on you.” She emphasized this point by jabbing a manicured finger at McCoy.

“Consensus?” Bones sputtered - all the information he was being given felt much more dire than the calm tones they were speaking in, “How many people know about this? Why didn’t  _ I _ know about this? Why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“Len, calm down!” Nyota placed her hands on the doctors shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eye, “ _ He _ hasn’t told anyone. It’s just something the crew has picked up on. He started acting weird this morning but it’s been weeks of him zoning out and walking into walls.”

Bones huffed, “He always walks into walls.”

Nyota chuckled, releasing his shoulders, “You’re not wrong. But don’t you think you should be talking to Jim about this, not  _ Spock and I _ ?” She hissed the last part very unsubtly and Bones stood, apologizing before taking off to his quarters.

So it was gossip.

He knew that he and Jim were close and this wasn’t the first time people had assumed something was going on between them. They laughed it off at the academy fairly often. But Spock had sent Jim to the medbay. And not because he thought Jim was sick - he really believe these rumors too. Bones hated to admit that when a logical creature like Spock understood the reasoning in something, maybe it had a merit of truth to it.

His thoughts drifted to Jim. He loved Jim more than anything. Next to his daughter, the man was his whole world. He wasn’t as impervious to the Kirk Charm as he’d always led on - since he set eyes on Jim he was enamoured with him. He hid it behind mother-henning and bitching at him but when Jim laughed brightly at this and stole a fry off Bones’ plate that very first day, the doctor realized he couldn’t chase this one off. And he didn’t want to.

He had long ago accepted Jim would never feel anything romantic toward him and he was not going to be the one to bring up to the topic. Jim had so much potential, could have anyone in the galaxy who hasn’t already fucked up beyond belief in their life like Leonard had. He didn’t need the baggage, didn’t need someone bringing him down. He refused to be the one to hold Jim back, to even risk ruining the friendship they both relied so heavily on.

But now? Hearing Jim feels the same way? He can’t even imagine it, his mind immediately wanting to chalk it up to bored ensigns spreading rumors. He stays up all night, trying to convince himself there isn’t a drop of hope growing in his chest, trying to stop himself from ruining something good and getting hurt again for no good reason.

* * *

 

The next day comes without any word from Bones, and Jim is thankful. Not that he doesn’t love talking to the guy but he’d been up all night trying to get his head on right, to find a way back to that easy friendship he was able to provide for so long without wanting anything more.

It was a couple hours into his shift when Bones burst onto the bridge. It wasn’t uncommon for the doctor to wander up there, either because he was bored in the medbay and wanted to stretch his legs, or for a real emergency. This was the former, or so Jim thought.

“Hi Bones!” Jim exclaimed at the sight of his CMO. He had come to the conclusion that the best way to bury these feelings would be to act as normal as possible, and so normal he would act.

Bones grunted, “Howdy, Jim. You’re safe for now - Chekov, come with me.” He didn’t wait for the navigator to stand but simply stalked off into the ready room, waiting for the kid to follow.

Chekov looked torn, eyes locked on Jim’s baffled expression, seeking approval. “Um, sir, is it okay if I -”

“Of course, go on Chekov,” Jim waved his hand dismissively, face pensive. He wasn’t jealous that Bones wasn’t here for him. It really was just plain curiosity at what he could possibly want with Chekov. He spun in his chair to look at Uhura who snickered at his crestfallen expression before pouting in sympathy. Jim rolled his eyes and spun back around to face front, eyes on the trails of stars drifting by.

“Alright, Chekov, you can relax, you’re not in trouble,” Bones reassured as the kid practically vibrated in his seat with anxiety. “I just wanted to ask you something. Off the record, if that’s alright by you.”

Chekov calmed a bit, but a different kind of fear was there now. He didn’t know Doctor McCoy very well, and he had no idea what the man would want from him. “Zat is alright, sir,” he replied, apprehension clear not only in his tone but also on his face.

“There’s a rumor goin’ around that Jim carries a torch for me. You heard anything about this?” Bones kept his tone light, unwilling to give away any of his own emotions, which he supposed was a bit hypocritical considering the nature of the conversation but hey, he never claimed to be forthright.

Paling, Chekov nodded, “Yes, sir, but I promise I did not start ze rumor. I only heard Sulu talking about it with Scotty, I did not tell anyone else.”

Bones struggled to hide his shock, “Sulu and Scotty? Okay, no, that’s fine. I guess what I’m askin’ here, kid, is if you think there’s any truth to those rumors or if it’s just gossip?” He almost outwardly winced at the hope that managed to slip so clearly into his voice.

Chekov’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward in his seat, hands clasped in front of his chest excited, “Do you like ze Captain too, sir? Wow, Sulu is going to be so upset that he lost ze bet!”

Letting the comment about the bet slip because  _ honestly, what the fuck was this crew _ , he narrowed his eyes at Chekov, “You didn’t answer my question,” Bones knew he could be intimidating and while he tried fairly hard to contain that when working on patients, he figured he could use it to his advantage now.

Chekov let his mouth fall open in a silent and understanding  _ oh _ . “Ze Captain and you have not discussed this yet.”

Bones slammed his hand on the table in frustration, “Dammit, man, is it true or not?”

Eyes widening, Chekov stood and inched toward the door, leaving the doctor frustrated. “I think you should ask ze Captain that, sir.” He slipped through right as Jim entered, looking more than a little confused.

“Why does Chekov look so terrified?” He asked lightly, taking the still spinning chair across from Bones. The doctor was leaning forward, elbows rested on his knees, staring at the floor. He watched as Jim’s rested the toe of his boot over his own shoe, not saying anything about the dirt like he normally would have.

He took a deep breath and lifted his head, making eye contact with Jim. He noticed the tension in his friends posture, the unsettled way his eyes flickered around the room but back to Bones, always back to him. “If I ask you something, will you be honest with me?” Bones’ voice was smaller than Jim had ever heard it and he leaned forward instinctually, wanting to protect.

“Of course,” he breathed, “I won’t lie to you, Bones. Never have.”

The doctor nodded thoughtfully and held the silence for a moment before speaking again. “The crew says you like me and  _ wow, I sound like a child  _ but I just want to know if it’s true.”

Jim leaned back in his chair, an audible gasp slipping out of his mouth before he realized what was happening launched into a rant, “I’m so sorry Bones, I never meant to take advantage of your friendship and I don’t expect anything else from you and I wasn’t ever going to tell you, it’s not fair to you, and I am going to launch my crew into space for mutiny -”

“Jim!” Bones barked, pulling his friends attention back to the moment, “Why are you apologizing?”

The younger man stopped for a moment, shuffling in his chair. “You’re not mad?” His eyes were focused on a point somewhere behind the doctor now.

Bones dropped his head, letting out a shaky laugh before he looked back to Jim who looked no less mortified, red coloring his cheeks and ears, “I’ve never seen you blush before,” he muttered, distracted from his original train of thought.

“Bones!” Jim buried his face in his hands. He stayed there for a moment before resurfacing with a grimace, “Is there any way we can still be normal after this? I know things aren’t going to be the same and that’s my fault but I can’t lose you in my life, Bones. I just can’t.” His voice broke on the last word and Jim cursed everything in the entire universe.

“Why would I want things to go back to normal?” Bones straightened in his seat, leaning forward once more and taking Jim’s face in his hands, “I love you more than anything. I followed you into space, for cryin’ out loud. You really don’t think I feel the same?” Before Jim had the chance to answer, Bones pressed his lips tentatively to the captain’s, just for a moment, before pulling back. Jim’s eyes were still closed, hands clutching onto Bones’ wrists and his blinked them open, ignoring the tear that escaped.

Jim launched forward, wrapping Bones in his arms as tightly as he could, his entire body in the doctors lap who protested between laughs as he peppered his face with kisses. After a few minutes, Jim rested his head in the crook of Bones’ neck, a death grip on the man’s torso.

“You’re too big for this, Jim,” Bones teased lightly, hands carding through messy blonde hair.

Pressing his lips to Bones neck and shivering at the curse that came from the other man, Jim pulled back to meet his gaze, “Chekov was your go-to for fact checking?”

Bones rolled his eyes, shoving at Jim who locked his arms around his neck, “I figured he’d be so terrified he’d give up the ghost right away.”

Chuckling, Jim pulling him into another kiss, “That was pretty  _ logical _ of you, Doctor,”

Bones groaned, standing so Jim fell to the floor with laughter, straightening his shirt as he watched his best friend, boyfriend,  _ captain of a starship for god’s sake,  _ gathering himself to return to the bridge, carding his hands through his hair in a vain attempt to make it appear as it had that morning when he arrived for duty.

“You wanna grab dinner tonight? Maybe talk about shore leave plans?” Bones mumbled, reaching forward to help Jim straighten his collar.

Jim beamed and Bones felt his heart melt at the fact that he put that smile there and it was meant for him and him alone. “Absolutely.” He punctuated this with another stolen kiss and all but skipped back onto the bridge.

Bones emerged a moment later looking a little worse for the wear, shirt wrinkled and hair tousled, shouting a blind, “Mind your own damn business!” at the crew as he entered the turbolift, unable to keep the smile off his face.

So, maybe Spock was more well versed in human emotions than he led on after all. Bones found himself thankful for the Vulcan’s inability to keep a secret, although he still going to give him an extra hypo for lack of discretion at his next exam. For Jim’s sake.

**Author's Note:**

> tysm for reading!!! it means everything to me!! constructive criticism, comments, kudos, views, it all fuels me! ily all!
> 
> you can find me  
> •Tumblr - staarmunch  
> •Twitter - ocularmacdown
> 
> and i'll see you next time!


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